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At Hatch Early Learning, we believe assessment is a compass that guides each child’s learning journey (Rymanowicz, 2024). However, assessment in early childhood classrooms can be challenging due to the complexity and variability of young children’s development (Ackerman & Coley, 2012). This is where formative assessment proves especially valuable, as it involves continuously gathering information about what children know and can do, then using that information to guide instruction (Riley-Ayers, 2018). Research shows that effective use of formative assessment can double learning rates (Black & Wiliam, 2018). -
Educators are acutely aware that children start the school year with a wide range of knowledge and skills. One child’s struggle can be another child’s strength, which makes it challenging to tailor instruction while responding to each child’s unique needs. In response to these challenges, there have been calls to support children with different skill sets through personalized learning (Sokolowski & Ansari, 2018). Personalized learning involves creating unique learning experiences tailored to each child's needs (Dumont & Ready, 2023). -
At Hatch Early Learning, the hard work done by early childhood educators never goes unnoticed. We value preschool teachers because they are foundational to children’s lifelong learning and development. We know that their work can be extremely challenging. -
A key to fostering kindergarten readiness in children hinges on supporting children’s learning both in the preschool classroom and at home (Galindo & Sheldon, 2012). At Hatch Early Learning, we understand the important connection between home and school for children’s early learning. Therefore, Ignite by Hatch™ is built to support children’s learning at school while seamlessly connecting that learning to their homes. -
Summer is a season filled with excitement and fun adventures, but it also brings the challenge of the dreaded "summer slide," when students can lose some of the knowledge and skills they worked so hard to gain during the school year (Quinn & Polikoff, 2017). For the third summer in a row, pre-K students in the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) Summer Transition Program kept the learning going throughout the sunny months, in part by using Ignite by Hatch™. Ignite is a digital learning tool for young learners that is designed, based on research from the learning sciences, to support kindergarten readiness (Hatch Early Learning, 2022). When children engage with Ignite, they practice and demonstrate their understanding of standards-aligned skills across seven domains: Mathematics, Literacy, Language & Communication Development, Social and Emotional Learning, Science & Technology, Physical Development, and Social Studies. As children play in Ignite, they move through a series of eight levels of skills in each domain that become progressively more rigorous. Levels 1–3 in Ignite are aligned to the pre-foundational skills children are expected to learn in preschool. Level 4 skills are aligned with kindergarten readiness, and Levels 5–8 move into elementary-school skills.
